Film Obscurity
by ImaginationMadeMeLove
Summary: No amount of strength could Ryder have mustered could have smothered the enamored smile on her mouth. With fumbling and laughter, she allowed an incredible man to spin her around, nearly bumping into furniture and walls. Ryder could not tell where her laughter began and Jaal's ended.


"I must be forthcoming Ryder." Jaal's admittance broke the comfortable, sparse chatter the couple had created since they had left the showers. The tempest was quiet as they were the only two remaining on board, they had stopped at Kadara for minute repairs and a replenishment of stock. Luckily, to Vetra and Liam's searching they found entertainment for the duration of their stay. There happened to be a boxing tournament of sorts happening at the new outpost. Everyone had agreed to go, Drack somehow managing to convince Lexi to attend. Convince, depending on how one looked at it, if an ancient krogan threatening to sign up if his asari doctor didn't come, or blackmail.

"Forthcoming about what?" Ryder peered over her shoulder as she dug through what little wardrobe she had. Straightening with a hoodie and sweats clasped in her hands she waited for him to continue. Standing with only a damp towel wrapped around her wasn't the exact way a serious conversation should be laid out. One foot following the other she pulled the initiative insignia pants up on her legs and reached for her brush that sat on her bedside table. A sensation of delight running through her as she felt his eyes slid over her body, admiring his handiwork. She would have never guessed the Angaran male was bitter.

"I didn't think that it would grow. I believed that you were...as Liam said 'pulling my leg'." at the human females look of confusion, he added "Your hair."

"Oh..." Ryder stared at the Angara, sprawled across her bed in nothing put a pair of blue shorts. "Ohhh" she laughed touching the ends of her hair. "Okay, I thought I had done something wrong" she grinned, running the brush through the topic of conversation. He was right, her hair had grown in the year and a half that they had known each other. Coming out of cryo her hair had been just an inch above her shoulders, and now its ends reached the top of her breasts. Carefully brushing out the tangles she shrugged. "It being longer doesn't bother you does it. I don't really care either way. Short or long."

"Oh no, I like it very much." Jaal shook his head, watching as she pulled the hair tie off of her wrist and piled pink strands on top of her head in a bun before pulling on her hoodie. Barefeet made soft tapping sounds as she moved towards the bed, hanging the towel over the edge of a chair to dry. While the other crew members had opted to go the wrestling match, it had taken no prompting from Ryder to stay on the Tempest for the evening. Jaal loathed Kadara something fierce. The place had improved since the establishment of an outpost and Reyes pulling strings, however, it still left him with feeling, the need to scrub his skin every time the left the planet. Even the air seemed to be saturated with deceit and deception. He hated it.

It had taken him and Ryder no time at all to decide that a movie night for just the two of them in her personal quarters would be a perfect way to spend the evening. Although it had not been in the cards a vigorous round of lovemaking. Not that he would ever complain about such a privilege. With SAM movie night was gonna be simple. To think the pathfinder's room already had a project installed above the bed.

"So do I get to admit something too?" Ryder crawled onto the bed next to him, shimmying beneath the duvet.

"Of course Darling One. I love to hear what you think." Jaal felt a sense of uncertainty run through him as the female human looked at him, expression turning serious, her pink colored eyes narrowing with intent. "I hope that someday, I will still be alive when we finally replicate and bred the first cows here in Andromeda. And that I am still alive when the first one goes missing. Because then I can ask..."

"That is a rather strange sentiment..why?" Jaal asked cautiously as Ryder leaned closer to him, taking a deep breath.

"Why did the cow go to outer space?" she whispered

"Um...because your initiative brought it here Darling one?" Jaal frowned when Ryder shook her head slowly.

"No...SO IT COULD VISIT THE MILKY WAY!" throwing her hands in the air she shook her hand's side to side an open-mouthed smile on her face "Badump-ts shhh hh. Jazz hands!"

"Um..I am confused. Sorry?" now he was confused. First of all, what was a cow? Second, what was she doing with her hands and why had she suddenly gotten loud. He watched as Ryder deflated with a groan. "Dangit. I wasted a great joke."

"Forgive me, Pathfinder. " SAM's monotone voice sounded through the room. "I did not realize that a joke of such low caliber actually caused laughter. I shall put that in my database. HA. ."

"Shut up SAM! You are not funny!" Ryder whined, laughing when Jaal laughed at that.

"Apparently Darling One neither are you." Jaal chuckled as Ryder stared at him, draw dropping in humorous offense.

"Fuck you Jaal!"

"I believe you did that in the showers already" he laughed harder as the other squeaked in disbelief.

"What the hell goes on at these cultural exchanges you and Kosta have going on!"

"Peebee sent me vids, and that was very similar to what occurred." the Angaran chortled, Ryder, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Oh just turn on the movie SAM" she groused, flopping back onto the pillows at the top of the bed. She responded with a half-hearted shove as large arms pulled her across the bed, to curl into her partner's side.

"You two are dicks" she muttered, "Don't even!" she said quickly, earning a snort from the Resistance soldier. "Of all cultural exchanges to get and you get dick jokes. One would think we had left that behind in the early 2000's with the dick pics and the duckface." she rolled her eyes.

"Duckface? Isn't a duck one of your earth creatures."

"I am not explaining that generational marker. Sorry, big boy." She shook her head, curling up into his side. "Now just watch the movie. Its head actor is a Hanar. Which mean's it's gonna suck. And no. "

"So if it is gonna be terrible then why are we watching it?" Jaal asked relenting to only ask a question.

"For the same reason, we watched that film with excessive Turian flexing. B-rated films are amusing to critique." turning her head she pressed a kiss to his shoulder, murmuring in content when he used his fingers to tilt her chin, taking a kiss from her mouth. Laying her head back on his chest she allowed him to tuck the duvet around them both as they once again fell into an amicable silence. A poorly written period drama was sometimes exactly what the soul needed.

"And why are they dancing again?"

"It was common to that time period for a man who was trying to court a woman to dance with her" Ryder shrugged. They were forty minutes into the movie and Jaal had been focused intently on the film, only talking when looking for clarification.

"And is it still common?"

"Well ya, I guess. I mean you go to the club or the bar. Even on the Nexus you still see people dancing with one another. Hey where are you going?" propping herself on her elbow, she watched as Jaal scooted himself from the bed, trying but failing not to drag sheets along with him. The alien looked at the screen, a look of resolution painting his features before he looked at her with a smile.

"May I have this dance, Lady Ryder?" bowing at the waist as Mr. Tilney had done he extended his hand to her. Ryder stared at him in shock, a flutter of excitement in her breast, possibly akin to what Catherine had been feeling.

"Of course Mr. Darav" She grinned, shrugging out of the duvet and crawling to the opposite side of the bed to take his hand. No amount of strength could Ryder have mustered could have smothered the enamored smile on her mouth. With fumbling and laughter, she allowed an incredible man to spin her around, nearly bumping into furniture and walls. Ryder could not tell where her laughter began and Jaal's ended. It all blended together in one beautiful crescendo, lights playing across their bodies, distorting images as they danced in and out of the projectors stream.

"Ryder I am not sure which one of us is worse at this dancing!" Jaal teased before reaching up to pull the tie from her hair. Shaking her head vigorously she allowed partly dried hair to curl and flip around her shoulders and face before Jaal's hand that had just been clasping her own slid into her hair.

"Hey, I can proudly say that I have two left feet." she breathed before being pulled into an encompassing kiss. There were no words that could ever truly capture the love and tenderness that welled within in her as the credits began to roll, the Tempest humming quietly around them and this brief moment of just them two. It was more than she had ever hoped for. Letting out a sigh of content once again Ryder smiled as Jaal pressed his forehead to hers. The evening had taken various turns, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Movie nights were going to become a regular event.


End file.
